On the 25th of March 2013 Pro Danube Management GmbH, successfully submitted the Project Proposal “LNG Master Plan for the Rhine-Main-Danube”, in its capacity of promoter and overall coordinator of the Project.
The project falls under the Priority Project Nr. 18 “Waterway axis Rhine/Meuse-Main-Danube” of the TEN-T Network Programme and includes 33 companies and organisations from 12 EU Member States with a project volume eligible for EU co-finance of app. 121 mn. € of which app. 52 mn. € will be allocated in the Danube region. Main partners from the Danube region are: Transport Trade S.A. which will invest into a receiving terminal in the Port of Constanta, Navrom S.A. Galati, which will convert vessels to LNG fuelling, Bulmarket DM Ltd. which will set up a distribution terminal in Ruse including supply of its gas customers by truck, Chemgas Holging B.V. which will invest in two LNG carriers, as well as Linz AG, Ceronav, Bernhard Schülte Ltd., Danube LNG EEIG, APDM Galati, University of Craiova, FHOÖ Forschungs- und Entwicklungs GmbH, EVN AG, Erste Group Bank AG and A3PS-Austrian Agency for Alternative Propulsion Systems.
The LNG Master Plan will provide a European strategy together with pilot deployments for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel for inland navigation vessels as well as for LNG as cargo to be transported on (inland) waterways and distributed via inland ports. The activities of the project foresee a set of feasibility studies, technical concepts, technical trials and pilot deployments of vessels and terminals.
The LNG Master Plan represents a platform for key stakeholders from the public and private sector facilitating parallel development of the necessary regulatory framework for LNG as vessel fuel and cargo and initial deployment of terminal and vessel infrastructure.
The action addresses major EU priorities and therefore has to be considered as major policy action to fulfil the ambitious objectives for use of alternative fuels, modal shift and greening of the inland navigation sector.
Further details on this PDI co-ordinated activity are available in our projects section.